{"id":11254,"date":"2017-01-27T14:59:23","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=11254"},"modified":"2017-01-30T16:01:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T16:01:00","slug":"stand-by-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=11254","title":{"rendered":"Stand by me"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

For many who work for the free Woolwich Ferry service \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which has been in operation for 127 years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in their blood. Just ask Unite member Gemma Drury, whose father was a ferry captain for decades. Now, Gemma (pictured below) helps direct traffic onto the ferry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Gemma<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got so many memories of the ferry \u00e2\u20ac\u201c my mother actually asked us to stop talking about it, we talk about the ferry all the time. It bores her now,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Gemma laughs. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf I were a boy, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d probably have started working on the ferry earlier.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gemma loves her job, as does Unite member Bob Balkwill (pictured below), a two-decade Woolwich Ferry veteran who, like Gemma, works in traffic control.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Bob<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou get to make real friendships with people,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m on early shifts, I know the guy in the white Fiesta is going to turn up at 10 to 7 in the morning and offer me a cup of tea \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I can set my watch on it. And I know the guy in the black Fiesta always comes in and moans about something. You see these people on a daily basis. You develop real bonds.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But management has now cast a pall on the historic service, loved by so many, which shuttles about 2m passengers and vehicle drivers across the Thames each year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The service is no longer safe, staff working on the ferry have warned. Dozens of Unite members who are taking the first day of a 12-day planned strike action today (January 27) have warned that operator Briggs Marine bosses have failed to properly maintain the boats. Fire-fighting equipment isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sufficient and workers have found toxic E.coli bacteria in the vessels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 water tanks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But perhaps most disturbingly of all, management have turned a blind eye to a staff member who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s allegedly been sexually harassed for years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member Colleen*, who has been working for the ferry service for nearly 24 years, says it all started with what at first glance might appear as an innocent comment here and there from a person in management. But then he persisted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098It frightened me\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt made me seriously uncomfortable \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it frightened me,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although she had told him repeatedly his advances were not welcome, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve continued for years, and like so many women who are harassed by their superiors in the workplace, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suffered in silence out of fear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was so hard because all these people are above me. But it got to the point where it was seriously making me ill,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo I finally decided to speak out.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thanks to Colleen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bravery and the support of Unite reps and her colleagues, she put in a detailed grievance, but management has so far failed to address the issue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In solidarity with their fellow worker, Unite and GMB members are now standing by her as they take strike action.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab highlighted how proud he was of the show of support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got this group of mostly men, who are willing to come out and take strike action in support of their female colleague,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Barry<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member Barry Smith (pictured above), who has worked for the ferry service for over 30 years, said he was shocked to learn of Colleen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s treatment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Stand by her to the end\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis sort of thing in this day and age should not be happening at all \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally unacceptable,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe will stand by her to the end.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kasab explained that in addition to management failure to protect the colleague from harassment, along with health and safety issues that put staff and passenger lives in danger, management is also failing to abide by various agreements, which stipulate what staff get paid and when. He noted, too, that a culture of bullying by management has become totally entrenched.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost complete trust and confidence in Briggs Marine,” he said. “What we are saying to Briggs is that they need to bring in an entirely new management team and get rid of this lot here. Transport for London too needs to intervene. They have got some responsibility because the service is run on behalf of TfL. We will keep taking strike action and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not going to stop until the employer does the right thing.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Further strike days are planned for each successive Friday until mid-April \u00e2\u20ac\u201c action that Kasab argues is necessary to make Marine Briggs bosses see sense.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“We want the strike action to be effective,” he said. “This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t about one day where we just let off some steam and go back to work the day after. This is about making sure changes actually happen. Our member has been sexually harassed for years and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now off sick. Management refused to suspend the individual who sexually harassed her despite putting in a very clear and detailed grievance \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this is unacceptable.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Tony<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member Tony Kane (pictured above), who’s worked for the ferry for nearly 40 years, urges passengers who might feel inconvenienced by the strike to understand their plight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dignity <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI’ve worked here a lifetime \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and this is only the second time we’ve taken strike action since I’ve been here,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis shows we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take strike action lightly. This isn’t about money. It’s about standing up for the dignity of our colleagues and the health and safety of passengers and staff alike.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kasab warned that bosses must commit to dealing with the issues Unite has presented head-on and explain precisely how they’ll do so.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“If and only if they do so, will we suspend the action,” he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Unite members taking action \u00e2\u20ac\u201c their resolve as constant as the Thames \u00e2\u20ac\u201c have said they will refuse to back down.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Whatever it is you believe in, you’ve got to stand together and fight for it,” Colleen told UNITElive. “How else is anything ever going to change?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*Name changed to protect privacy<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pics by Mark Thomas <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many who work for the free Woolwich Ferry service \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which has been in operation for 127 years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in their blood. Just ask Unite member Gemma Drury, whose father was a ferry captain for decades. Now, Gemma (pictured below) helps direct traffic onto the ferry.     \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got so many memories […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11256,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[132,274],"wps_subtitle":"Ferry workers strike for dignity","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11254"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11263,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11254\/revisions\/11263"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}